Following the success of "Maleficent", "Cinderella" and "Beauty and the Beast", Disney is keeping the ball rolling by continuing the live-action adaptions of their animated classics. The studio is now hell-bent on making a live-action adaption of "Mulan" especially that the other studio is making a version of their own. Niki Caro whose popularly known for "Whale Rider", was drafted to helm the film that was originally based on a Chinese legend.
Niki Caro was under Disney's radar recently as she is included in the short list to lead the "Captain Marvel" movie, the studio's first-ever female oriented movie. She was reportedly included in the prospect directors together with Lesli Linka Glatter and Lorene Scafaria. Disney also considered other woman directors for the live-action movie like "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins and Michelle MacLaren as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Caro was hired by Disney for the job because she shared the same view as the studio regarding the Chinese legend turned movie. She will be the second director hired by the studio to helm a film with a budget of over than $100 million. Before Disney considered female directors, the studio initially approached Asian directors like Ang Lee and Jiang Wen to assure the cultural authenticity of the project.
The film will be produced by Chris Bender, Jason Reed and Jake Weiner taking great care that the film will be genuine from its Chinese roots. Disney is also bringing the Hong Kong-based producer, Bill Kong to act as the executive producer of the film. The Oscar-nominated super producer has been behind some of the most successful Chinese movies like "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" as reported by Los Angeles Times.
Whitewashing controversies are bound to happen in movies like this however, Disney claimed that Mulan and other major characters of the film will be Chinese. They are currently making a global casting for the main role and other characters. The movie is slated for a November 2018 release.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
